State Leaders Promote Shore Line East Upgrades

Shore Line East is getting improvements now, and could be in for a large-scale expansion in the long term

Improvements that are underway at the Guilford and Branford train stations will help Shore Line East keep growing in the short term, state officials said Friday.

And should Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's 30-year transportation plan move forward, the system could get a massive overhaul.

The state is in the midst of adding 100 parking spaces at the Guilford station and extending its platform from 40 feet to 200. At the Branford station, workers will be building a new platform and a pedestrian bridge later in the year.

"Expanding rail service and capacity is key to building a stronger Connecticut," Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman said at a press conference in Guilford. "Shore Line East carries over a half a million riders each year, and that number continues to grow."

Shore Line East's ridership has grown nearly 7 percent a year for the past decade, and the state wants to continue that trend to ease traffic congestion on I-95, Transportation Commissioner James Redeker said.

Workers also plan to build a new passenger platform in Clinton and create 200 more parking spaces at the Old Saybrook station. The DOT plans to extend the Madison station platform, and is studying the feasibility of building a station in Niantic.

Several legislators from the region appeared with Wyman and Redeker to speak on behalf of improving Shore Line East, the most heavily subsidized commuter rail line in the state. Railroad advocates say more improvements will pay for themselves because increased ridership will reduce the need for taxpayer support.

Late next year, Shore Line East is scheduled to get a fleet of low-mileage M-8 trains from the Metro-North New Haven line. Shore Line East's aging diesel locomotives and unpowered passenger cars will be transferred to the new Hartford Line.

But the biggest improvements under consideration would be years away. Malloy's 30-year proposal includes $420 million to improve catenary between New London and New Haven, add sidings in Waterford, build a train storage yard in New London and expand the M-8 fleet so some Shore Line East trains could go all the way to Grand Central Terminal.

Also on Malloy's list is $200 million to extend Shore Line East service from New London to Westerly, R.I., which would give Connecticut local train service operating the entire length of its shoreline from Greenwich to Stonington.

So far, state lawmakers have given no unified response to Malloy's proposal, although some Republicans have criticized it for providing no funding source.